Carrier

Response to Tender
EDI-990 Format
X12 Version 004010
Inbound
Revised: July 30, 2007
Version: 2.01.14

Please see final page of document for updates included in this version.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Response to Tender transaction is used to electronically give notice of either acceptance or rejection
of a previously tendered shipment. In addition, the transaction is used to accept or reject a Spot Bid
Request from a Shipper. The document contains minimal information about the shipment itself.

Four types of responses are managed via data exchange:

1. Tender acceptance.

2. Tender decline.

3. Spot Bid Request Acceptance with Freight Quote Bid Amount.

4. Spot Bid Request decline.

If no response is received in the time window specified in the 204 Shipment Tender document, a decline
of tender or a decline of Spot Bid Request is automatically assumed and a 204 Shipment Cancel or Expire
will be sent to the carrier.

However, if an accepted Spot Bid Request is received within in the specified time window, then a 204
Shipment Rejection or Approval will be sent to the carrier.

Response to Tender EDI documents in Sterling TMS use the ANSI X12 – 990 specification version
004010. The Sterling TMS standard of these specifications is included as well as examples of its use.

Sterling TMS will send 997 Functional Acknowledgments for this EDI transaction upon request.

Special Characters

Delimiters
Sterling TMS uses the asterisk (*) for the element separator, the tilde (~) for the segment terminator, and
the vertical bar (|) for the sub-element separator. Please do not use any other delimiters.

Handling of Other Special Characters

• Sterling TMS will change the following characters to spaces: \ < >
• Sterling TMS will change the pound sign (#) to be ‘NO.’
• Sterling TMS will change the double quote (“) to a single quote (‘)
• Sterling TMS will change the percent symbol (%) to be ‘C/O’ which stands for ‘care of” if the
percent symbol is the first character in an element. Other uses of the percent symbol will be changed
to ‘PCT.’

2
EDI FORMAT

990 Response to a Load Tender

Functional Group ID= GF

Introduction:

This Draft Standard for Trial Use contains the format and establishes the data contents of the Response to a Load Tender
Transaction Set (990) for use within the context of an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) environment. The transaction set can be
used to provide general information relative to a specific shipment. The Response to a Load Tender is used as the response to a
Motor Carrier Load Tender Transaction Set (204) which has been used as a load tender.
Pos. Seg. Req. Loop Notes and
No. ID Name Des. Max.Use Repeat Comments
M 005 ISA Interchange Control Header M 1
M 007 GS Functional Group Header M 1
M 010 ST Transaction Set Header M 1
M 020 B1 Beginning Segment for Booking or Pick- M 1
up/Delivery
Must Use 030 N9 Reference Identification O 1
040 L9 Charge Detail O 40
060 K1 Remarks O 10
M 070 SE Transaction Set Trailer M 1
M 080 GE Functional Group Trailer M 1
M 090 IEA Interchange Control Trailer M 1

3
 Segment: ISA Interchange Control Header
Position: 005
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Mandatory
Max Use: 1
Purpose: To start and identify an interchange of zero or more functional groups and interchange-related control
segments
Syntax Notes:
Semantic Notes:
Comments:

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
M ISA01 I01 Authorization Information Qualifier M ID 2/2
Code to identify the type of information in the Authorization Information
00 No Authorization Information Present (No Meaningful
Information in I02)
M ISA02 I02 Authorization Information M AN 10/10
Information used for additional identification or authorization of the interchange
sender or the data in the interchange; the type of information is set by the
Authorization Information Qualifier (I01)
M ISA03 I03 Security Information Qualifier M ID 2/2
Code to identify the type of information in the Security Information
00 No Security Information Present (No Meaningful
Information in I04)
M ISA04 I04 Security Information M AN 10/10
This is used for identifying the security information about the interchange sender
or the data in the interchange; the type of information is set by the Security
Information Qualifier (I03)
M ISA05 I05 Interchange ID Qualifier M ID 2/2
Qualifier to designate the system/method of code structure used to designate the
sender or receiver ID element being qualified
02 SCAC
M ISA06 I06 Interchange Sender ID M AN 15/15
Identification code published by the sender for other parties to use as the receiver
ID to route data to them; the sender always codes this value in the sender ID
element
This should be your Standard SCAC code. If you are using a Fleet SCAC for the
shipment, that value should go in the B1 segment.
M ISA07 I05 Interchange ID Qualifier M ID 2/2
Qualifier to designate the system/method of code structure used to designate the
sender or receiver ID element being qualified
ZZ for Test (Sandbox) Mutually Defined
01 for Production Duns number

M ISA08 I07 Interchange Receiver ID M AN 15/15

Identification code published by the receiver of the data; When sending, it is used
by the sender as their sending ID, thus other parties sending to them will use this
as a receiving ID to route data to them

NISTEVO or NVTxxxxxxxxxx for Test (Sandbox)

048599448 or NVOxxxxxxxxx for Production

Note: use NVTxxxxxxxxx or NVOxxxxxxxxx to create unique Trading Partner

relationships per Shipper (our TMS Customer) where xxxxxxxxx is usually the

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 Shipper’s DUNS Number.

M ISA09 I08 Interchange Date M DT 6/6

Date of the interchange
M ISA10 I09 Interchange Time M TM 4/4
Time of the interchange

M ISA11 I10 Interchange Control Standards Identifier M ID 1/1

Code to identify the agency responsible for the control standard used by the
message that is enclosed by the interchange header and trailer
U U.S. EDI Community of ASC X12, TDCC, and UCS
M ISA12 I11 Interchange Control Version Number M ID 5/5
This version number covers the interchange control segments
You may use another value here, but you must notify NISTEVO with the number
you will be sending before submitting documents.
00401 Draft Standards for Trial Use Approved for Publication by
ASC X12 Procedures Review Board through October 1997
M ISA13 I12 Interchange Control Number M N0 9/9
A control number assigned by the interchange sender
M ISA14 I13 Acknowledgment Requested M ID 1/1
Code sent by the sender to request an interchange acknowledgment (TA1)
0 No Acknowledgment Requested
M ISA15 I14 Usage Indicator M ID 1/1
Code to indicate whether data enclosed by this interchange envelope is test,
production or information
P Production Data
T Test Data
M ISA16 I15 Component Element Separator M AN 1/1
Type is not applicable; the component element separator is a delimiter and not a
data element; this field provides the delimiter used to separate component data
elements within a composite data structure; this value must be different than the
data element separator and the segment terminator

5
 Segment: GS Functional Group Header
Position: 007
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Mandatory
Max Use: 1
Purpose: To indicate the beginning of a functional group and to provide control information
Syntax Notes:
Semantic Notes: 1 GS04 is the group date.
2 GS05 is the group time.
3 The data interchange control number GS06 in this header must be identical to the same data element
in the associated functional group trailer, GE02.
Comments: 1 A functional group of related transaction sets, within the scope of X12 standards, consists of a
collection of similar transaction sets enclosed by a functional group header and a functional group
trailer.

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
M GS01 479 Functional Identifier Code M ID 2/2
Code identifying a group of application related transaction sets
Refer to 004010 Data Element Dictionary for acceptable code values.
M GS02 142 Application Sender's Code M AN 2/15
Code identifying party sending transmission; codes agreed to by trading partners
This should be your Standard SCAC code. If you are using a Fleet SCAC for the
shipment, that value should go in the B1 segment.

M GS03 124 Application Receiver's Code M AN 2/15

Code identifying party receiving transmission; codes agreed to by trading partners
NISTEVO or NVTxxxxxxxxxx for Test (Sandbox)
048599448 or NVOxxxxxxxxx for Production

M GS04 373 Date M DT 8/8

Date expressed as CCYYMMDD
M GS05 337 Time M TM 4/8
Time expressed in 24-hour clock time as follows: HHMM, or HHMMSS, or
HHMMSSD, or HHMMSSDD, where H = hours (00-23), M = minutes (00-59), S
= integer seconds (00-59) and DD = decimal seconds; decimal seconds are
expressed as follows: D = tenths (0-9) and DD = hundredths (00-99)
M GS06 28 Group Control Number M N0 1/9
Assigned number originated and maintained by the sender
We recommend that you use a five-digit number in accordance with UCS
standards.
M GS07 455 Responsible Agency Code M ID 1/2
Code used in conjunction with Data Element 480 to identify the issuer of the
standard
X Accredited Standards Committee X12
M GS08 480 Version / Release / Industry Identifier Code M AN 1/12
004010 Draft Standards Approved for Publication by ASC X12
Procedures Review Board through October 1997

6
 Segment: ST Transaction Set Header
Position: 010
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Mandatory
Max Use: 1
Purpose: To indicate the start of a transaction set and to assign a control number
Syntax Notes:
Semantic Notes: 1 The transaction set identifier (ST01) is used by the translation routines of the interchange partners to
select the appropriate transaction set definition (e.g., 810 selects the Invoice Transaction Set).
Comments:

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
M ST01 143 Transaction Set Identifier Code M ID 3/3
Code uniquely identifying a Transaction Set
990 Response to a Load Tender
M ST02 329 Transaction Set Control Number M AN 4/9
Identifying control number that must be unique within the transaction set
functional group assigned by the originator for a transaction set.
THIS NUMBER MUST BE UNIQUE! We recommend that you follow UCS
guidelines and use a 5-digit GS control number concatenated with a 4-digit
incremented counter. For example, if your GS control number is 00012 and this
is the third occurrence of the ST loop, your ST02 value would be 000120003.

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 Segment: B1 Beginning Segment for Booking or Pick-up/Delivery
Position: 020
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Mandatory
Max Use: 1
Purpose: To transmit identifying numbers, dates, and other basic data relating to the transaction set
Syntax Notes:
Semantic Notes: 1 B101 is the Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) of the carrier sending the EDI transmission.
2 B103 is the booking date accepted by the carrier.
Comments:

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
>> B101 140 Standard Carrier Alpha Code O ID 2/4
Standard Carrier Alpha Code
This must match the SCAC received in the 204, element B202.
M B102 145 Shipment Identification Number M AN 1/30
Identification number assigned to the shipment by the shipper that uniquely
identifies the shipment from origin to ultimate destination and is not subject to
modification; (Does not contain blanks or special characters)
This must match the Shipment ID received in the 204, element B204.
B103 373 Date O DT 8/8
Date expressed as CCYYMMDD
>> B104 558 Reservation Action Code O ID 1/1
Code identifying action on reservation or offering
A Reservation Accepted
Used to for both Tender Accepts and for Spot Bid Request
Accepts.

Note that a L9 segment is required with a Spot Bid Request

Acceptance to insure consideration by the Shipper.
D Reservation Cancelled
Used to for both Tender Declines and for Spot Bid Request
Declines.

8
 Segment: N9 Reference Identification
Position: 030
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Optional (Must Use)
Max Use: 1
Purpose: To transmit identifying information as specified by the Reference Identification Qualifier
Syntax Notes: 1 At least one of N902 or N903 is required.
2 If N906 is present, then N905 is required.
3 If either C04003 or C04004 is present, then the other is required.
4 If either C04005 or C04006 is present, then the other is required.
Semantic Notes: 1 N906 reflects the time zone which the time reflects.
2 N907 contains data relating to the value cited in N902.
Comments:

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
M N901 128 Reference Identification Qualifier M ID 2/3
Code qualifying the Reference Identification
CN Carrier's Reference Number (PRO/Invoice)
>> N902 127 Reference Identification X AN 1/30
Reference information as defined for a particular Transaction Set or as specified
by the Reference Identification Qualifier
If you are declining the shipment and/or don’t have a Carrier’s Reference
Number then use “NONE”.
N903 369 Free-form Description X AN 1/45
Free-form descriptive text
Equipment Trailer Number (optional)
N904 373 Date O DT 8/8
Date expressed as CCYYMMDD
N905 337 Time X TM 4/8
Time expressed in 24-hour clock time as follows: HHMM, or HHMMSS, or
HHMMSSD, or HHMMSSDD, where H = hours (00-23), M = minutes (00-59), S
= integer seconds (00-59) and DD = decimal seconds; decimal seconds are
expressed as follows: D = tenths (0-9) and DD = hundredths (00-99)
N906 623 Time Code O ID 2/2
Code identifying the time. In accordance with International Standards
Organization standard 8601, time can be specified by a + or - and an indication in
hours in relation to Universal Time Coordinate (UTC) time; since + is a restricted
character, + and - are substituted by P and M in the codes that follow
Refer to 004010 Data Element Dictionary for acceptable code values.
>> N907 C040 Reference Identifier O
To identify one or more reference numbers or identification numbers as specified
by the Reference Qualifier

M C04001 128 Reference Identification Qualifier M ID 2/3

Code qualifying the Reference Identification
8M Originating Company Identifier (Shipper)
M C04002 127 Reference Identification M AN 1/30
Reference information as defined for a particular Transaction Set or as specified
by the Reference Identification Qualifier
This is the DUNS number of the Shipper. It is sent to you in the 204 transaction,
element N104 where N101=SH.

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C04003 128 Reference Identification Qualifier X ID 2/3
Code qualifying the Reference Identification
ZZ Mutually Defined (Tender Decline Reason Code)
C04004 127 Reference Identification X AN 1/30
Reference information as defined for a particular Transaction Set or as specified
by the Reference Identification Qualifier
Code indicating the reason for declining a shipment or work assignment
CPT Capacity Type
CPU Capacity Unavailable
EQT Equipment Type
EQU Equipment Unavailable
LNH Length of Haul
PRM Permits
WGT Weight
NET Not Enough Time
C04005 128 Reference Identification Qualifier X ID 2/3
Code qualifying the Reference Identification
Refer to 004010 Data Element Dictionary for acceptable code values.
C04006 127 Reference Identification X AN 1/30
Reference information as defined for a particular Transaction Set or as specified
by the Reference Identification Qualifier

10
 Segment: L9 Charge Detail
Position: 040
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Optional
Max Use: 40
Purpose: To specify special charge code and the associated monetary amount
Syntax Notes:
Semantic Notes: 1 L902 is the transportation charge for a special service performed, expressed in the standard monetary
denomination for the currency specified.
Comments:
Notes: This segment is used to return a Freight Quote Bid Amount to Sterling TMS.
Only one segment should be used.

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
M L901 150 Special Charge or Allowance Code M ID 3/3
Code identifying type of special charge or allowance
400 Freight
Used to indicate that the Freight Quote Bid Amount in
L902 is the sum of the Line Haul Charge plus Planned
Accessorials.

Note that actual cost to the Shipper/Payor is the Freight

Quote Bid Amount plus any agreed Unplanned
Accessorials.

LHS Linehaul Service

Used to indicate that the Freight Quote Bid Amount in
L902 is a Line Haul Charge only.

Note that actual cost to the Shipper/Payor is the Freight

Quote Bid Amount plus contracted Planned Accessorials
defined within Sterling TMS plus any agreed Unplanned
Accessorials.
M L902 782 Monetary Amount M R 1/18
Monetary amount

11
 Segment: K1 Remarks
Position: 060
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Optional
Max Use: 10
Purpose: To transmit information in a free-form format for comment or special instruction
Syntax Notes:
Semantic Notes:
Comments:
Notes: This segment is used as an alternative to the N9 segment to provide reference information

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
M K101 61 Free-Form Message M AN 1/30
Free-form information
8M Originating Company Identifier (Shipper)
K102 contains the Shipper’s DUNs Number.

This is the DUNS number of the Shipper. It is sent to you

in the 204 transaction, element N104 where N101=SH.

CBH Monetary Amount Description

K102 contains the Currency Code. Note when currency
information is not supplied, USD is assumed.

Currency Code values:

USD – United States Dollars
CAD – Canadian Dollars

K102 61 Free-Form Message O AN 1/30

Free-form information

12
 Segment: SE Transaction Set Trailer
Position: 070
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Mandatory
Max Use: 1
Purpose: To indicate the end of the transaction set and provide the count of the transmitted segments (including
the beginning (ST) and ending (SE) segments)
Syntax Notes:
Semantic Notes:
Comments: 1 SE is the last segment of each transaction set.

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
M SE01 96 Number of Included Segments M N0 1/10
Total number of segments included in a transaction set including ST and SE
segments
M SE02 329 Transaction Set Control Number M AN 4/9
Identifying control number that must be unique within the transaction set
functional group assigned by the originator for a transaction set

13
 Segment: GE Functional Group Trailer
Position: 080
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Mandatory
Max Use: 1
Purpose: To indicate the end of a functional group and to provide control information
Syntax Notes:
Semantic Notes: 1 The data interchange control number GE02 in this trailer must be identical to the same data element
in the associated functional group header, GS06.
Comments: 1 The use of identical data interchange control numbers in the associated functional group header and
trailer is designed to maximize functional group integrity. The control number is the same as that
used in the corresponding header.

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
M GE01 97 Number of Transaction Sets Included M N0 1/6
Total number of transaction sets included in the functional group or interchange
(transmission) group terminated by the trailer containing this data element
M GE02 28 Group Control Number M N0 1/9
Assigned number originated and maintained by the sender

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 Segment: IEA Interchange Control Trailer
Position: 090
Loop:
Level:
Usage: Mandatory
Max Use: 1
Purpose: To define the end of an interchange of zero or more functional groups and interchange-related control
segments
Syntax Notes:
Semantic Notes:
Comments:

Data Element Summary

Ref. Data
Des. Element Name Attributes
M IEA01 I16 Number of Included Functional Groups M N0 1/5
A count of the number of functional groups included in an interchange
M IEA02 I12 Interchange Control Number M N0 9/9
A control number assigned by the interchange sender

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EDI Sample Usage

This section will provide examples of the EDI X12-990 transaction documents
comprising a Response to Tender.

Note: The EDI transaction documents are intended to serve only as examples of
those documents that would be sent. The EDI Format specification for the ANSI
X12 – 990 listed earlier should be used to verify all required EDI document,
document layouts and codes.

Example 1: Carrier Accepts Tendered Shipment

Description: Shipper XYZ has tendered shipment 1234 to Carrier TRUK. Carrier is accepting shipment as
tendered using reference number 876841 for internal tracking and has assigned fleet TRUZ to it. They will use
trailer number 8899 for transportation.
ISA*00* *00* *02*TRUK *ZZ*NISTEVO *010801*1349*U*00401*990000111*1*P*|~
GS*GF*TRUK*NISTEVO*20010108*1349*990000111*X*004010~
ST*990*99011~
B1*TRUZ*1234**A~
N9*CN*876841*****8M|XYZ~
SE*4*99011~
GE*1*990000111~
IEA*1*990000111~

Example 2: Carrier Declines Tendered Shipment

Description: Shipper XYZ has tendered shipment 1234 to Carrier TRUK. Carrier is unable to accept
shipment as tendered.
ISA*00* *00* *02*TRUK *ZZ*NISTEVO *010801*1349*U*00401*990000111*1*P*|~
GS*GF*TRUK*NISTEVO*20010108*1349*990000111*X*004010~
ST*990*99011~
B1*TRUZ*1234**D~
N9*CN*NONE*****8M|XYZ~
SE*4*99011~
GE*1*990000111~
IEA*1*990000111~

16
Document Change Log
2.01.2 05/22/2001 Requirement added that ST02 be a unique number.

2.01.3 06/01/2001 Updated handling of special characters.

2.01.04 06/25/2001 N902 added default value of NONE

2.01.05 08/28/2001 Added Production ID’s

Changed Sender ID qualifier from ZZ to 02

Corrected ISA and GS in examples.

2.01.06 08/28/2001 Corrected comment about customer’s DUNS number in the N9 segment.

2.01.07 09/05/2001 Changed cover page and summary page format to match other documents.

Change B1 references to 204 elements where the SCAC and Shipment ID are found.

Minor changes to N9 comments.

2.01.08 10/18/2001 Changed useage note in N9 to be “Must Use”.

2.01.09 06/16/2004 Add ISA segment to examples.

2.01.10 06/28/2004 Added N907 C04003/C04004 Tender Decline Reason Code values.

2.01.11 12/02/2004 Added L9 Segment and Spot Bid element usage and comments.

2.01.12 04/27/2007 Added ISA08/GS03 options.

2.01.13 07/25/2007 Minor formatting changes.

2.01.14 07/30/2007 Rebranded Nistevo references to Sterling TMS where appropriate.